Amazon’s affiliation program is one of the most popular among publishers and bloggers around the world, but the conversion rate is not always what we hope it will be. Once the click is obtained, the user lands on the Amazon site and the game moves there. One of the ways to optimize conversions and earnings is by choosing the best products to recommend in our articles.
The success of the Amazon affiliate program is undeniable. By analyzing the backlink profile with SemRush, right now we can detect 1.2 billion backlinks from 121 thousand domains to Amazon.co.uk and 8.3 billion backlinks from 3.3 million domains to Amazon.com (note: the number of backlinks from such a large site using affiliation can change very quickly). So many people link to Amazon hoping to make money, but few actually do: not everyone is able to get traffic(this Seo guide for journalists explains how) and many of the clicks to Amazon obtained vanish into thin air because the user does not buy.
The purpose of this guide is to explain how to improve the conversion rate (the number of items ordered divided by the number of clicks on links) that is displayed in the Amazon Associates dashboard. The goal, then, is tooptimize the last stage of the funnel leading to purchase, the one that seemingly seems out of our control because it takes place off our site. So let’s see how to read the data and choose the best products.
Orders through direct or indirect links
A premise is a must: to understand how to choose the best products to promote on one’s blog, it must be clear how conversions are attributed.
Items ordered through direct links are the conversions obtained from the item I linked to on the site: for example, I put the link to product X and you buy just that. Indirect orders (“all other items” in the Amazon Associates dashboard) are those ordered after further browsing on Amazon: e.g., you click on the link to item X, but in the end you prefer to buy item Y. This is also the case with products added to the shopping cart: order that includes both product X (direct) and product Y (indirect).
For many categories, commissions from direct link-generated orders are higher than from indirect orders. If we reason in terms of pure conversion rate, indirect orders are as good as direct orders. If we consider the value of commissions, orders through direct links are the most valuable. When we post links to specific products it is therefore convenient to target products that generate a direct order or those that imply a purchase of other products. An example of the latter case is the printer: in order to use it, I will also have to buy toner, cartridges, and blank sheets, so the value of my cart may be higher.
Bestsellers on Amazon
Amazon’s Bestseller section is the most widely used source for publishers to choose products because it is immediate and very easy to use(click here to check it out). It shows the most desired products based on sales volumes and is updated hourly. You can observe the rankings for each category.
With this category Amazon helps us a lot because it is telling us what works best in terms of sales. The figure can be influenced by many factors such as internal and external promotions, but basically if an item is selling well, it means that for some reason it is appreciated by users.
Now for a little trick. The Amazon ranking data is reported in the details of each product tab. Here Amazon shows us its ranking for each category in which it is placed. By clicking, we can see the full ranking and discover other products that have higher sales volume.
The products of the moment and the most interesting new products
The Amazon catalog is huge and constantly being updated. Keeping abreast of emerging trends is therefore a good practice to push the most current products and to find new insights for our blog articles.
Among the products of the moment(click here) we find for each category those that had a strong growth in sales in the last 24 hours. There are often products that do not appear in the top bestseller positions, but this data indicates to us an increased interest in certain products that may be due to seasonality, specific needs, or promotional activities.
This section can help those who publish articles intended for Google Discover or social and thus need to follow trends more than those who publish Seo evergreen articles.
Most desired products and gift ideas
In the Most Wanted list(at this link) Amazon includes the products that are most often placed on wish lists or wedding lists. This is an interest on the part of the user, but inclusion in the cart may not be immediate.
Instead, the section of the most given away prodoti(at this link) is very interesting. These are clearly the products that are given away most often on Amazon. This ranking is useful for when making blog articles with recommendations for gifts for holidays or anniversaries.
Reviews and stars
Users usually look at reviews before they buy, and the best-selling products are also those with higher ratings. Careful consultation of reviews is therefore essential to select a product with a good chance of conversion. You can set a filter based on the rating when searching on Amazon.
Prices and offers
The commission for a more expensive product is higher than for a cheaper one belonging to the same category, but there are also lower chances of success. This obviously does not apply to those products for which other values come into play that are decisive for choice.
In most cases, the advice is to come up with two or three products in different price ranges. It usually pays to choose one that is very expensive, one that is inexpensive, and one that is mid-range but closer to inexpensive. Unless other factors come into play at the time of choice, the average user is more likely to choose the intermediate product.
Another determined lever is supply, which is clearly visible on Amazon. This triggers a perception of savings and at the same time a sense of urgency. The user is more likely to buy immediately.
Analysis of orders received
This is one of the most analytical and data-driven approaches and refers to the specific behavior of our readers. This is where Amazon’s dashboard comes in, whose reports can also be downloaded in xlsx format.
We look closely at which products are selling best from direct links to consider replacing some of the ones we have included that are not working.
Another interesting figure is that of indirect orders. This data tells us which products our readers are interested in. We can then decide to include these products in existing articles or in new articles suggested by this very information.
Google Analytics
On Google Analytics we have the ability to understand what our users’ interests are thanks to affinity categories and in-market segments. This information allows us to build a picture of our audience and buyer personas. It then becomes easier to cross-reference them with a list of potentially interesting products.
Product knowledge and industry experience
The best requirement for being able to sell a product is the writer’s specific experience and knowledge of it. I like swimming, and I train several times each week in the pool, so I know that when a swimmer has to buy goggles he wants them to not fog up in the water, to fit tightly on the face so that water does not get in, and to allow a peripheral view to check the opponent. If I have to recommend the purchase of a goggle model, I have more authority than a person who has never swam in his life.
In these circumstances, direct experience, discussed in the article where the link is placed, definitely takes precedence in product selection over the other aspects seen above. A trusting reader will carry all our advice with him or her even when he or she is on the Amazon product sheet.
Amazon plugin with automatic search: pros and cons
Many plugins allow you to select articles almost automatically, suggesting bestsellers by category or a keyword filter. Personally, I am not a big fan of this mode.
It is certainly a very quick option to simplify product entry. The downside is that this automatic selection is not always accurate and there can be errors. In my opinion, a thoughtful manual choice is always the best choice because it is more authentic and consistent with the context in which the reader gets the information he or she seeks.
How to earn with Amazon affiliation
We have seen how to choose the best products to do affiliate marketing and optimize the last stretch of the buying funnel. It’s like the shot of the kidneys before the finish line. By following these guidelines, we can improve the conversion rate, that is, the number of conversions achieved for the same number of clicks.
This part of the funnel must be placed in a larger context that includes a structured editorial plan and various activities such as Seo, social media marketing, advertising, and so on. It is like a single mechanism in a car: it is essential, but it only works if it is well integrated with all the other elements.
